Hello Janelle. I understand you're enquiring about the meaning of Communion, otherwise called, The Lord's Table or Breaking of Bread. As you know, this was first instituted by the Lord Jesus when He shared a meal with His disciples at Passover time, prior to His arrest & crucifixion (called, The Last Supper): Luke 22:14-20.
Then after Jesus' Death & Resurrection, His apostles & the new Church formed under the Holy Spirit's indwelling & direction, also observed this coming together, eating, & remembering of Jesus' Sacrifice ( Acts 2:41-47; 1 Corinthians 11:23-30). So when Jesus first instituted this at The Last Supper, He wanted to show His disciples very vividly how the bread they had broken & now eating, was a picture of His Own Body being broken (crown of thorns, nails in hands & feet, flesh torn by whipping, & pierced side). And the cup of liquid they drank & shared together, should be a reminder of His Blood that would be shed in death & through it, the New Covenant would be brought in. New Covenant? This is God's Promise that whoever repents & is forgiven, does so because Jesus was made our Sacrifice (our Substitute) & God accepts us on His new Terms. The Old Covenant was under obedience to the Law & Sacrifices, which could never save a person, but it looked forward to when God's Sacrifice (His Son) would fully pay for our sin - for those who truly repent & turn to Him.
So how does Communion work? It is a memorial occasion, where those who are born again of God's Spirit, share together in a meal (today we generally have small tokens of wafer & juice), remembering in a material way, what the cost of our salvation was & a time to praise God together as a Church body, for God's Gift of His Son because of His great Love for us. This meal/token of bread & wine doesn't change into flesh & blood, as some believe, but are given as reminders of the great work at Calvary. It should be a special time when the Church together focusses on Jesus' Death & Resurrection.
Then after Jesus' Death & Resurrection, His apostles & the new Church formed under the Holy Spirit's indwelling & direction, also observed this coming together, eating, & remembering of Jesus' Sacrifice ( Acts 2:41-47; 1 Corinthians 11:23-30). So when Jesus first instituted this at The Last Supper, He wanted to show His disciples very vividly how the bread they had broken & now eating, was a picture of His Own Body being broken (crown of thorns, nails in hands & feet, flesh torn by whipping, & pierced side). And the cup of liquid they drank & shared together, should be a reminder of His Blood that would be shed in death & through it, the New Covenant would be brought in. New Covenant? This is God's Promise that whoever repents & is forgiven, does so because Jesus was made our Sacrifice (our Substitute) & God accepts us on His new Terms. The Old Covenant was under obedience to the Law & Sacrifices, which could never save a person, but it looked forward to when God's Sacrifice (His Son) would fully pay for our sin - for those who truly repent & turn to Him.
So how does Communion work? It is a memorial occasion, where those who are born again of God's Spirit, share together in a meal (today we generally have small tokens of wafer & juice), remembering in a material way, what the cost of our salvation was & a time to praise God together as a Church body, for God's Gift of His Son because of His great Love for us. This meal/token of bread & wine doesn't change into flesh & blood, as some believe, but are given as reminders of the great work at Calvary. It should be a special time when the Church together focusses on Jesus' Death & Resurrection.
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